CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Cultural Competence

Cultural Competence

Introduction

Cultural competence is the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and even policies that enable a professional to work in different cultural contexts. Cultural competency is an idea which is evolving in health service researches. The term is extensively used in public health services and public wellbeing in the year 1990's.It remains outstanding in current considerations to address ethnic and racial disparities in heath status and to access care.

Cultural competence must be included in the delivery of health services so as to decrease the systematized prejudice that supports current Indigenous health guidelines. It refers to the association between the individual being helped and the helper, in a cross-cultural perspective. While cultural security focuses on the encounters of the patient, cultural competence concentrates on the capability of the health practitioner to enhance health status by incorporating culture into the clinical setting. This last part is imperative, and exhibits the vitality of moving beyond cultural understanding. Identification of culture is not by itself a satisfactory justification of reasoning for needing cultural competence; rather the purpose of the practice is to augment gains from health mediation where the individuals are from diverse cultures.

Cultural competence is an imperative vehicle for expanding access to quality care for all populace of patients, by customizing delivery to meet patients' cultural, social, and linguistic needs. Australian society has maintained and developed a social distance from Indigenous Australians. Indigenous Australians are often confronted with a very pessimistic looking glass from others who have significant power over them, incorporating doctors. As a result there is substantial insecurity about self perception of Indigenous Australians, their background and their traditions in relation to health services and to the society. This is demonstrated in the poor health data for Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders.

Discussion

In the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, health is a multi-faceted and complex incorporating physical health of individuals, emotional and social health, and the welfare of the whole population. Culture, family and functioning of the community provide a source of strength for wellbeing and health. There is a role for each family, individual and community to take responsibility for transforming the social norms that are the basis for long-term change.

We know that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people get strength from a number of factors such as connectedness to culture, family and identity. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, health is not just about the individual's physical wellbeing, but also the emotional, social and cultural welfare of the whole population. We are also aware from the fact that family centered approaches to health care, including involvement of family in making decisions, are significant for the successful management and prevention of chronic diseases. Therefore, joining and bonding with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families in a culturally competent and respectful way is imperative for effective service delivery and preventative health.

Cultural competency for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples

For a number of services that includes the health division in Australia, meeting the requirements ...